IRVING, Texas — Safety Karl Joseph was the lone West Virginia player named to the media’s Preseason All-Big 12 football team on Wednesday.
The hard-thumping junior is entering his third year as a starter, though his first two seasons overlapped with two of the worst statistical defenses in Mountaineers history.
Here’s the complete rundown, which to the surprise of my ballot, did not include WVU offensive guard Quinton Spain. More commentary after the list:
2014 Preseason All-Big 12 Football Team
Offensive Player of the Year: |
Bryce Petty, Baylor, QB |
Defensive Player of the Year: |
Devonte Fields, TCU, DL |
Newcomer of the Year: |
Tyreek Hill, Oklahoma State, WR |
Offense |
||||||
Pos
|
Name |
School |
Ht |
Wt |
Cl |
Hometown |
WR |
Antwan Goodley |
Baylor |
5-11 |
225 |
Sr. |
Midland, Texas |
TE |
EJ Bibbs |
Iowa State |
6-3 |
261 |
Sr. |
Chicago |
OL |
Spencer Drango |
Baylor |
6-6 |
305 |
Jr. |
Cedar Park, Texas |
OL |
Cody Whitehair |
K-State |
6-4 |
309 |
Jr. |
Abilene, Kan. |
C |
B.J. Finney |
K-State |
6-4 |
303 |
Sr. |
Andale, Kan. |
OL |
Daryl Williams |
Oklahoma |
6-6 |
329 |
Sr. |
Lake Dallas, Texas |
OL |
Le’Raven Clark |
Texas Tech |
6-5 |
303 |
Jr. |
Rockdale, Texas |
WR |
Tyler Lockett |
K-State |
5-11 |
175 |
Sr. |
Tulsa, Okla. |
QB |
Bryce Petty |
Baylor |
6-3 |
230 |
Sr. |
Midlothian, Texas |
RB |
Shock Linwood |
Baylor |
5-9 |
200 |
So. |
Linden, Texas |
RB |
Malcolm Brown |
Texas |
6-0 |
228 |
Sr. |
Cibolo, Texas |
PK |
Michael Hunnicutt |
Oklahoma |
6-1 |
180 |
Sr. |
Richardson, Texas |
KR |
Tyler Lockett |
K-State |
5-11 |
175 |
Sr. |
Tulsa, Okla. |
Defense |
||||||
Pos
|
Name |
School |
Ht |
Wt |
Cl |
Hometown |
DL |
Ryan Mueller |
K-State |
6-2 |
245 |
Sr. |
Leawood, Kan. |
DL |
Devonte Fields |
TCU |
6-4 |
240 |
So. |
Arlington, Texas |
DL |
Chucky Hunter |
TCU |
6-1 |
305 |
Sr. |
West Monroe, La. |
DL |
Cedric Reed |
Texas |
6-6 |
271 |
Sr. |
Cleveland, Texas |
LB |
Bryce Hager |
Baylor |
6-2 |
235 |
Sr. |
Austin, Texas |
LB |
Ben Heeney |
Kansas |
6-0 |
230 |
Sr. |
Hutchinson, Kan. |
LB |
Eric Striker |
Oklahoma |
6-0 |
221 |
Jr. |
Seffner, Fla. |
DB |
Zack Sanchez |
Oklahoma |
5-11 |
179 |
So. |
Keller, Texas |
DB |
Sam Carter |
TCU |
6-1 |
215 |
Sr. |
New Orleans |
DB |
Quandre Diggs |
Texas |
5-10 |
204 |
Sr. |
Angleton, Texas |
DB |
Karl Joseph |
West Virginia |
5-10 |
196 |
Jr. |
Orlando |
P |
Spencer Roth |
Baylor |
6-4 |
225 |
Sr. |
Knoxville, Tenn. |
PR |
Levi Norwood |
Baylor |
6-2 |
200 |
Sr. |
State College, Pa. |
My ballot agreed completely with all three player of the year candidates: How do you pick against Petty posting stratospheric numbers in the league’s most prolific offense? And how do you bet against a healthy and motivated Fields prospering under one of the Big 12’s top defensive minds? The newcomer is more of a tossup, so I’ll lean toward Hill—perhaps the fastest player in the FBS—making an instant impression in Oklahoma State’s uptempo attack.
There was only mild dissension with the rest of the first-teamers, where I concurred with 17 of the 26 picks. The distinctions:
• I had Spain listed ahead of K-State’s Whitehair, though admittedly there are only marginal differences. Both are fifth-year seniors with almost identical NFL draft stocks.
• Bibbs is a talent, but no Big 12 tight end made my ballot. I went with three receivers instead—you know, like almost every offense in the league. My receivers were Baylor’s Goodley and K-State’s Lockett, along with one who didn’t make the announced team: Texas Tech dynamo Jakeem Grant. The 5-foot-6 Grant made 65 catches with seven touchdowns despite a ton of balls going Jace Amaro’s direction.
• I also took a flyer on WVU kicker Josh Lambert over Oklahoma’s Hunnicutt, who was the safe choice.
• My kick returner was Baylor’s Corey Coleman over K-State’s Lockett, and my punt returner was Daje Johnson of Texas over Baylor’s Norwood. (I’m kicking myself for not asking Joe DeForest his personal opinion on these guys.)
• On the D-line, I left off a terrific defensive end, K-State’s Ryan Mueller, in favor of Oklahoma’s Charles Tapper. This may wind up being particularly egregious should Mueller win the Ted Hendricks Award, but I love Tapper’s potential and I hate picking chalk.
• My other D-line disagreement involved leaving off TCU’s Hunter in favor of Texas’ Malcom Brown, who’s taller, longer and more productive.
• Among the linebackers, I omitted the Jayhawks’ Heeney in favor of Oklahoma’s Dominique Alexander, who was fabulous in the second half of his freshman season.